Heliophysics News - SciTechDaily

Eugene Parker – Pioneering Astrophysicist Who Discovered Solar Wind – Dies at 94

Louise Lerner, University of Chicago — Sat, 19 Mar 2022 11:36:13 +0000

Prof. Emeritus Eugene N. Parker, a pioneering astrophysicist whose contributions to solar physics were so enormous that NASA named its Parker Solar Probe mission after...

NASA Mourns Passing of Visionary Heliophysicist Eugene Parker – Namesake of Parker Solar Probe

NASA — Thu, 17 Mar 2022 03:51:08 +0000

Dr. Eugene N. Parker, visionary of heliophysics and namesake of NASA’s Parker Solar Probe, has passed away. He was 94. As a young professor at...

UVSC Pathfinding Experiment To Study Origins of Solar Energetic Particles – Sun’s Most Dangerous Form of Radiation

Lina Tran, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center — Thu, 02 Dec 2021 12:37:59 +0000

A joint NASA-U.S. Naval Research Laboratory experiment dedicated to studying the origins of solar energetic particles — the Sun’s most dangerous form of radiation —...

NASA Scientists Observe Electric Blue Clouds in the Mesosphere

Mara Johnson-Groh, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center — Fri, 21 Sep 2018 13:02:52 +0000

On the cusp of our atmosphere live a thin group of seasonal electric blue clouds. Forming 50 miles (80 kilometers) above the poles in summer,...

NASA Heliophysics Research Details Substorm Activity Around Earth

Mara Johnson-Groh, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center — Tue, 28 Nov 2017 16:31:13 +0000

Researchers have been studying the near-Earth environment for the better part of a century, but many mysteries — like where the energetic particles that pervade...

SOHO Reveals Evidence of Seismic G-Mode Waves in Our Sun

Emily Baldwin, ESA (European Space Agency) — Tue, 01 Aug 2017 17:21:34 +0000

Using data from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, or SOHO, astronomers have detected a type of wave called g-modes on the Sun. After four decades...

Safety Tips for Viewing the August Solar Eclipse

Dwayne Brown / Laurie Cantillo, NASA — Mon, 24 Jul 2017 17:05:08 +0000

NASA has released information and safety tips for viewing the upcoming August 21st solar eclipse. More than 300 million people in the United States potentially...

CLASP Provides First-Ever Polarization Measurements of UV Light from Sun’s Outer Atmosphere

Molly Porter, NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center — Wed, 24 May 2017 14:58:31 +0000

Using data from the the high-precision science instrument CLASP (Chromospheric Lyman-Alpha Spectro-Polarimeter), scientists reveal the first-ever polarization measurements of ultraviolet light emitted from the sun’s...

Scientists Review Space Weather Events Linked to Human Activity

Mara Johnson-Groh, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center — Wed, 17 May 2017 16:30:22 +0000

Scientists review the fundamental physical process behind space weather events that are linked to human activity and discusses the observations of their impacts. Our Cold...

Van Allen Probes Reveal Man-Made Barrier Shrouding Earth

Mara Johnson-Groh, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center — Wed, 17 May 2017 16:09:50 +0000

A newly published study details the anthropogenic effects on the space environment, which started in the late 19th century and reached their peak in the...

New IBEX Observations Determine the Strength of the Magnetic Field Outside the Heliosphere

Sarah Frazier, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center — Fri, 26 Feb 2016 17:31:41 +0000

A newly published study uses IBEX data and simulations of the interstellar boundary to better describe space in our galactic neighborhood. Immediately after its 2008...

NASA’s Solar and Heliospheric Observatory Celebrates 20 Years of Science

Sarah Frazier, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center — Tue, 01 Dec 2015 16:43:19 +0000

ESA and NASA’s Solar and Heliospheric Observatory celebrate twenty years of space-based science. After 20 years in space, ESA and NASA’s Solar and Heliospheric Observatory,...

NASA’s Voyager 1 Continues to Help Solve the Interstellar Medium Mystery

Elizabeth Landau, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory — Thu, 29 Oct 2015 16:41:01 +0000

Data from NASA’s Voyager 1 Spacecraft show that the direction of the magnetic field has been slowly turning ever since the spacecraft crossed into interstellar...

NASA’s Interstellar Boundary Explorer Provides New Details on Solar System Boundary

Tue, 20 Oct 2015 15:57:05 +0000

New research from NASA’s Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) mission provides the most definitive analyses, theories and results about local interstellar space to date. The new...

Venus Transit Reveals Clues about the Venusian Atmosphere

Sarah Frazier, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center — Fri, 10 Jul 2015 16:06:24 +0000

Astronomers used the Venus transit to make measurements of how the Venusian atmosphere absorbs different kinds of light, revealing clues to what elements are layered...

Solution to the Coronal Heating Mystery Presented at 2015 TESS Meeting

Karen C. Fox, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center — Wed, 29 Apr 2015 16:32:38 +0000

Researchers detail why the sun’s atmosphere is so much hotter than its surface, revealing that the heating mechanism depends on regular, but intermittent explosive bursts...

New Research Reveals Two Solar Wind Jets in the Heliosphere

Karen C. Fox, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center — Wed, 04 Mar 2015 16:13:35 +0000

New research shows that the heliosphere is dominated by two giant jets of material shooting backwards over the north and south poles of the sun,...

20 Years of Science Discoveries From NASA’s Wind Spacecraft

Karen C. Fox, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center — Mon, 29 Dec 2014 16:25:42 +0000

After 20 years, NASA’s Wind spacecraft is still going strong and helping scientists understand the forces that buffet near-Earth space. The end of 2014 marks...

NASA’s Voyager 1 Experiences Three “Tsunami Waves” in Interstellar Space

Elizabeth Landau, Jet Propulsion Laboratory — Tue, 16 Dec 2014 15:55:23 +0000

New data show that the shock wave that NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft began experiencing in February 2014 is still propagating outward. It is the longest-lasting...

NASA Video Reveals the Difference Between Solar Flares and CMEs

Max Gleber, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center — Tue, 23 Sep 2014 15:17:35 +0000

This short NASA video highlights the differences between coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and solar flares. How do you tell the difference between a flare and...

New Findings from X-Ray Instrument Settle Decades-Old Interstellar Debate

Francis Reddy, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center — Tue, 29 Jul 2014 15:07:05 +0000

New research resolves a decades-old puzzle about a fog of low-energy X-rays observed over the entire sky, confirming the long-held suspicion that much of this...

IBEX Explores the Magnetic System Beyond the Solar Wind

Karen C. Fox, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center — Fri, 14 Feb 2014 14:57:34 +0000

Newly published research uses IBEX data to paint a better picture of the magnetic system that surrounds us, offering an explanation for a decades-old mystery...

It’s Official – Voyager 1 Has Entered Interstellar Space

Jia-Rui C. Cook/D.C. Agle, Jet Propulsion Laboratory — Fri, 13 Sep 2013 14:04:13 +0000

A newly published study has confirmed that the 36-year-old NASA Voyager 1 spacecraft has left our solar system and has entered interstellar space. NASA’s Voyager...

Study Shows Interstellar Wind Has Changed Direction

Karen C. Fox, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center; NASA — Fri, 06 Sep 2013 14:42:13 +0000

Based on data spanning four decades from eleven different spacecraft, a new study shows that interstellar wind most likely changed direction over the last 40...